Oregon House passes one of nation’s strictest gun lock-ups

By In the news
In: Uncategorized
Thursday April 29, 2021

By Taxpayers Association of Oregon
OregonWatchdog.com

The Oregon House passed Senate Bill 554-B which requires firearms to be locked in safes or have locking devices. SB 554 also empowers schools, college campuses and airport passenger terminals (with their million annual visitors) to ban firearm possession.  SB 554 turns the Oregon State Capitol into a gun-free zone.  All Republican Representatives voted against SB 554 along with three Democrat lawmakers David Gomberg, Mark Meek and Paul Evans.

SB 554 makes the gun owner liable if a minor unlawfully accesses the gun. The gun owner must report the loss of any firearm within 72 hours.

It increases the concealed license fee from $50 to $100.

House Republican leader Christine Drazan said that she only received 10 phone calls in support of the bill compared to over 5,000 against the bill.

State Representative Bill Post said “While Democrats celebrate a bill that will likely be overturned by the courts, today I will remain silent at my desk on the House Floor to honor all of the victims of domestic violence, home invasions and those who will not be saved by a good guy with a gun because of this bill”.  Read his full statement here.

State Representative Mark Owens said, “Today, I stood up in frustration to speak at length about the attack on our second amendment and constitutional rights coming out of the legislature today, and to voice my strong opposition and my NO votes to SB 554 on the House floor today. This legislation has been spun to be about public safety, but it’s not. In fact, it makes it worse. By penalizing law-abiding citizens, we’re making criminals out of Oregonians who have done their training, followed the laws, passed background checks, and more. Dangerous situations will become more dangerous. Dangerous criminals will become more powerful, victims will become more vulnerable. Hear me out: we absolutely need to address devasting suicide rates, mental health crises that lead to volatile situations involving guns, and violent crime. This legislation won’t do that. This legislation can’t fix those problems. This legislation is a distraction from actually addressing those things.”
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